Actually closeness to the sun has a lot less to do with it than the amount of sun rays that reaches the planet (or different areas on the planet like for example the poles vs equator) and its atmospheric makeup.

Some people believe Mars was similar to earth at one point in time due to research findings on mars.

You could sit here and argue all day as to whether or not life exists anywhere else in the universe but I'd like to just think in terms of it being an awfully big waste of space without more life.

This whole Solar System is a waste of space for one planet of life, really. Like I said, if they discover microbial life on Mars, then I will start to believe that life could exist elsewhere, otherwise I will hold the belief that we might be alone in the universe.

Your point also reminds me of an article where they found a region of the universe billions of light years across filled with absolutely nothing. Can you waste any more space than that?

Keep in mind that just because life doesn't exist there at the moment, it doesn't mean it can't exist there "ever" or hasn't existed there "before". There were stages on Earth that life did not exist. The problem is that our lifespan and life in general is very meager in terms of a solar system and planet development.

Personally I don't have strong convictions either way, but my personal thoughts are as follows:

Extraterrestrial life in general? ---- I could definitely see it happening. Especially if you're talking about microbes and what not.

Extraterrestrial life that is sentient? ---- I can't see it happening.

Some are very likely to say "that's an unfounded, arbitrary distinction" but I don't really care. As I said, I don't hold it with any great conviction, and some objective evidence would most assuredly swing me one way or the other. Though, admittedly, it is notoriously difficult to provide evidence that something doesn't exist lol.

I think there is life out in the universe. Too many planets that can support life not to.

As for whether or not they are visiting us? Who knows? However even without being able to get around at faster than light speed. The universe has been around for a long time. Maybe drones from an alien race were sent to all sides of the universe a long time ago from a galaxy far far away...

GayAsianBoywrote:
I have a belief that the probability of life existing outside of the Solar System is much much closer to nil; I say this because even though there are billions and billions of planets, not many can actually come close to having the perfect habitable zone that Earth has. I mean, even if Earth was just a teeny tiny bit closer or further away from the Sun, life could not have even started much less flourished.

In addition, what about the requirement for abiogenesis to actually occur? What if the probability of that happening is incredibly low? And what are the chances that a stimulant would appear at the time right time at the formation of a primordial "soup"?

All these requirements make me think about how hard it is for life to actually occur. (I hope nobody thinks I believe in god or anything like that or think that life on Earth is special) I just think it might be due to incredible luck, really.

Furthermore, the argument of abiogenesis is a speculation at best, and as far as I understand, many researchers believe that several "abiogenesises" took place prior to the one that finally resulted in us.

Not to mention that given how vast the universe is, it would seem highly unlikely, even if the chances were so slim, that it hasn't happened at least ONCE before somewhere out there.

GayAsianBoywrote:
In response to your idea about aliens visiting the planet Earth. I doubt that will ever happen, because if life were to exist outside of the Solar System, it is highly unlikely that they will be consist of the same elemental bases that life on Earth contain, which is Carbon, and also the atmospheric gases on Earth could be lethal to those extraterrestrial life and the difference in pressure and gravity.
It would be foolish for any extraterrestrial life to come straight into the Earth's atmosphere without at least studying the components, the atmospheric pressure and the gravity of this planet. And if they were able to make it this far, I doubt they would be able to hide their spaceship.

If they are able to do something as amazing as to travel across solar systems, they have probably advanced far beyond the point where any of these things would be even remotely of an issue.

I smell Haruhi Suzumiya
Oh, about the extraterrestrials, Maybe i do believe in their existence, there just so many living things in this universe that we humans, still have not proven that they really existed. This universe is too big to be fully discovered though

If there is any intelligent life out there, it's most likely to be too far for us to ever come across each other. The universe is a massive place. It would be like an ant from China getting lost and ending up in Europe before it's life cycle ends. You have a better chance of getting bit by every type of snake in the world.